If his rant is indicative about the future direction of science, we're all doomed. Unfortunately, the social sciences literature is full of this stuff. It takes real discipline and fortitude to get through training in the social sciences and not be seduced by this kind of rambling bullshit, without even mentioning the other obstacles. I've found this book a great resource, and a good primer on science and rationality, one I think Chris Anderson needs to read.
AVC: Just like you changed your comic style in the late '60s and early '70s, some have contended that you changed again in the '80s, becoming a little bit angrier. Would you agree with that?
GC: No, it's not so much anger. People read it that way, and that's the convenient word to go to. I understand that. Here's why it seems that way. There is a certain amount of righteous indignation I hold for this culture, because to get back to the real root of it, to get broader about it, my opinion that is my speciesâ"and my culture in America specificallyâ"have let me down and betrayed me. I think this species had great, great promise, with this great upper brain that we have, and I think we squandered it on God and Mammon. And I think this culture of ours has such promise, with the promise of real, true freedom, and then everyone has been shackled by ownership and possessions and acquisition and status and power.
And perhaps it's just a human weakness and an inevitable human story that these things happen. But there's disillusionment and some discontent in me about it. I don't consider myself a cynic. I think of myself as a skeptic and a realist. But I understand the word "cynic" has more than one meaning, and I see how I could be seen as cynical. "George, you're cynical." Well, you know, they say if you scratch a cynic you find a disappointed idealist. And perhaps the flame still flickers a little, you know?
And so, there's a part of me that is angry. Not in the sense of, "Gee, George is an angry guy!" I mean, anyone who's been with me five minutes, five years, whatever, they would tell you they've rarely seen me in a moment of anger. Yes, I can become highly irritated in a line that's moving slowly, or with a clerk who's incompetent. But I don't yell. I don't get rude. I am clear about what I expect. In a store, my mother always told me, "Ask for the manager immediately. It changes the tone of the conversation." [Laughs.]
So I am not a difficult man by any stretch, and I'm saying that with a full and honest inventory going on. I'm not. And I'm not angry on stage. There is a heightening. There is an intensification of the feelings on stage in order to let them carry the room. There is a theatricality about it. The whole thing is oratory, so there's persuasion involved. There's the art of rhetoric involved. And so, with hyperbole and with the desire to really punch the thing home, some of it reads a little more angry.
Now, it's true that the direction of the material changed, at least in part. Because I had always featured language stuff that was fairly simple and innocent and honest and even sweet and childlike, and other things like, "Oh, did you ever notice between your toes, you have these things." I still did all that stuff. But I began to tap into that other part of me that would've been a great protest singer. I just began to let that part of me grow and live. It was a natural thing, and it just went from one level to another. And there's a lot of that social criticism in the shows now, because what I'm really trying to say to people is, "Don't you see what the fuck you're doing here? What you've done to yourselves? Can't you see what you're letting them do to you?" I mean, that's sort of the subtext. "Aren't you aware of what the fuck is going on, you folks?" That's kind of what I'm thinking in my heart.
If those electrons or photons are trespassing in my private property, whoever sent them there is fortunate that I don't take countermeasures, in court or with a lethal focusing reflector. You could always get them back with some loud sex and an elliptical reflector dish.
Both Kontact and Evolution have basic Exchange integration through plugins. I use Evolution's Exchange plugin, which used to be quite buggy, but has improved a lot in the last year or so. Exchange calendar and e-mail work fine for me at work.
gDesklets actually runs without any noticeable footprint on my Ubuntu computers, and the clock is a nice visual. The GoodWeather desklet is useful and looks awesome too. So yeah, desklets aren't a big deal, but they aren't necessarily a huge waste of resources.
You've been modded off-topic because your guess at the origin of that quote is too obscure? The original is from this classic. Buy it, rent it, download it.
Well, the whole point is really that MS has a ton of resources. A ridiculous amount of resources and control and information. And what have they done with all that power? Not much.
If I had all the bricks in the world and I built a few decent houses with it, and a lot that crumble, no one would call me an innovator. Especially if almost everyone had to rent one of the crappy houses I built.
Not sure why this is a/. story, since these types of tweaks are possible with all kinds of apps and, as mentioned above in a ton of posts, are probably a bad idea.
If you open the.xpi archive that installs the extension, you can also edit the XML files inside to make the extension think it's compatible with any version of Firefox. I did that a few days ago to install the ffx 2 default theme in ffx 3, since I'd like to make it fully compatible. As it stands now, it only causes minor problems in Gnome (can't vouch for anything else). So, if you want to see how compatible an old plugin/extenstion/theme is and make it compatible with ffx 3, this is a good way to see how much work you'll have to do.
Just post some long message about what you don't like in current distros and how you can do better. Then give it a stupid name, tell people they shouldn't look at it, and tinker with the code for a few months.
Note: Whether it ever runs is an afterthought. Building a community is not even an afterthought.
With an attitude like that, you may want to join PNAC.
You realize most of the problems in Africa can be traced back to its colonization, don't you? And Africa is in the midst of a neo-colonial period right now? Also, have you seen Iraq lately?
Lots of hate for Bletchley Park in these comments, surprisingly. Does anyone on/. think there's no value in museums or parks or art galleries? Should we stop funding them because people are starving? Maybe if we took a serious look at the problem of poverty instead of relying upon the Gates's and Rockefellers of the world (who are part of the problem), we'd be able to feed people and preserve culture.
For those that would label me as not pragmatic enough, I'd say take a look at the bloated military budget of the U.S. or U.K. Even a thin little wafer of the pie chart could preserve many Bletchley Parks. And potentially save lives, I'd add (by diverting funds from a war machine and putting them into social spending).
On a college campus, especially a large one with wireless network(s), identifying users by IP address is an inaccurate science at best, asinine at worst. Shared wireless/wired access points in dorms, apartments, frat houses, computer labs, libraries, coffee shops, etc. further complicate the situation
The RIAA doesn't seem to care if they catch their "criminals"; they're out for blood. The hope is that a few users will be investigated/handed over by their colleges. Then some of the casual P2P users on campuses will stop downloading or turn to smarter filesharing methods.
In the RIAA fantasy world, the outcome is that everyone but a few "bad apples" will stop downloading music except via the (RIAA owned and approved) channels.
Seriously. Even if they just get the fire/water effects of compiz going with a device like this, it would be much more awesome than the demo videos. Could have a small table like this as an input device, and a larger screen to show all the compiz coolness.
I don't have the requisite skills, but I hope someone in the community hears me:)
I really wish more people would RTFA. The main gripe seems to be with Landscape, which is an online service run on proprietary software. Launchpad is also proprietary, but Canonical has shown some signs of freeing it up.
...which begs the question: Why not just fork Sugar and get it to run on an ubuntu-minimal install (with some tweaks, obviously)? Has Mark Shuttleworth weighed in on the OLPC situation yet? Maybe he would get behind some low-cost PCs running Ubuntu/Sugar.
Oh, and anyone who wants to run Sugar on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy can find the packages in the "universe" repository.
Slashdot Mirror
...you should read this interview.
AVC: Just like you changed your comic style in the late '60s and early '70s, some have contended that you changed again in the '80s, becoming a little bit angrier. Would you agree with that?
GC: No, it's not so much anger. People read it that way, and that's the convenient word to go to. I understand that. Here's why it seems that way. There is a certain amount of righteous indignation I hold for this culture, because to get back to the real root of it, to get broader about it, my opinion that is my speciesâ"and my culture in America specificallyâ"have let me down and betrayed me. I think this species had great, great promise, with this great upper brain that we have, and I think we squandered it on God and Mammon. And I think this culture of ours has such promise, with the promise of real, true freedom, and then everyone has been shackled by ownership and possessions and acquisition and status and power.
And perhaps it's just a human weakness and an inevitable human story that these things happen. But there's disillusionment and some discontent in me about it. I don't consider myself a cynic. I think of myself as a skeptic and a realist. But I understand the word "cynic" has more than one meaning, and I see how I could be seen as cynical. "George, you're cynical." Well, you know, they say if you scratch a cynic you find a disappointed idealist. And perhaps the flame still flickers a little, you know?
And so, there's a part of me that is angry. Not in the sense of, "Gee, George is an angry guy!" I mean, anyone who's been with me five minutes, five years, whatever, they would tell you they've rarely seen me in a moment of anger. Yes, I can become highly irritated in a line that's moving slowly, or with a clerk who's incompetent. But I don't yell. I don't get rude. I am clear about what I expect. In a store, my mother always told me, "Ask for the manager immediately. It changes the tone of the conversation." [Laughs.]
So I am not a difficult man by any stretch, and I'm saying that with a full and honest inventory going on. I'm not. And I'm not angry on stage. There is a heightening. There is an intensification of the feelings on stage in order to let them carry the room. There is a theatricality about it. The whole thing is oratory, so there's persuasion involved. There's the art of rhetoric involved. And so, with hyperbole and with the desire to really punch the thing home, some of it reads a little more angry.
Now, it's true that the direction of the material changed, at least in part. Because I had always featured language stuff that was fairly simple and innocent and honest and even sweet and childlike, and other things like, "Oh, did you ever notice between your toes, you have these things." I still did all that stuff. But I began to tap into that other part of me that would've been a great protest singer. I just began to let that part of me grow and live. It was a natural thing, and it just went from one level to another. And there's a lot of that social criticism in the shows now, because what I'm really trying to say to people is, "Don't you see what the fuck you're doing here? What you've done to yourselves? Can't you see what you're letting them do to you?" I mean, that's sort of the subtext. "Aren't you aware of what the fuck is going on, you folks?" That's kind of what I'm thinking in my heart.
...meaning you should not have been modded "5, Insightful" since the joke went over your head :)
Excepting for the fact that he would have called you a fucking moron for even suggesting that there is an "up there".
Parent quote is from recent "It's Bad For Ya" tour and HBO special.Both Kontact and Evolution have basic Exchange integration through plugins. I use Evolution's Exchange plugin, which used to be quite buggy, but has improved a lot in the last year or so. Exchange calendar and e-mail work fine for me at work.
I could imagine a large rotating space station in orbit around Titan, dropping a nanotube straw to the methane atmosphere and/or oceans for energy.
...sorry, couldn't help myself.
I DRINK YOUR METHANE! I DRINK IT UP!!!
gDesklets actually runs without any noticeable footprint on my Ubuntu computers, and the clock is a nice visual. The GoodWeather desklet is useful and looks awesome too. So yeah, desklets aren't a big deal, but they aren't necessarily a huge waste of resources.
You can have wireless, you just have to try harder.
You've been modded off-topic because your guess at the origin of that quote is too obscure? The original is from this classic. Buy it, rent it, download it.
Well, the whole point is really that MS has a ton of resources. A ridiculous amount of resources and control and information. And what have they done with all that power? Not much.
If I had all the bricks in the world and I built a few decent houses with it, and a lot that crumble, no one would call me an innovator. Especially if almost everyone had to rent one of the crappy houses I built.
I can't believe how naive some of these comments are. My first thought: How are they trying to make money off of this ridiculous policy?
Not sure why this is a /. story, since these types of tweaks are possible with all kinds of apps and, as mentioned above in a ton of posts, are probably a bad idea.
.xpi archive that installs the extension, you can also edit the XML files inside to make the extension think it's compatible with any version of Firefox. I did that a few days ago to install the ffx 2 default theme in ffx 3, since I'd like to make it fully compatible. As it stands now, it only causes minor problems in Gnome (can't vouch for anything else). So, if you want to see how compatible an old plugin/extenstion/theme is and make it compatible with ffx 3, this is a good way to see how much work you'll have to do.
If you open the
"We know what we're doing."
Just post some long message about what you don't like in current distros and how you can do better. Then give it a stupid name, tell people they shouldn't look at it, and tinker with the code for a few months.
Note: Whether it ever runs is an afterthought. Building a community is not even an afterthought.
With an attitude like that, you may want to join PNAC.
You realize most of the problems in Africa can be traced back to its colonization, don't you? And Africa is in the midst of a neo-colonial period right now? Also, have you seen Iraq lately?
Lots of hate for Bletchley Park in these comments, surprisingly. Does anyone on /. think there's no value in museums or parks or art galleries? Should we stop funding them because people are starving? Maybe if we took a serious look at the problem of poverty instead of relying upon the Gates's and Rockefellers of the world (who are part of the problem), we'd be able to feed people and preserve culture.
For those that would label me as not pragmatic enough, I'd say take a look at the bloated military budget of the U.S. or U.K. Even a thin little wafer of the pie chart could preserve many Bletchley Parks. And potentially save lives, I'd add (by diverting funds from a war machine and putting them into social spending).
'nuff said.
It's not like there's an ISO Standard Buddha, and nobody would take his sutras seriously anyway
Even if there was, we'd need a 6000-page ISO standard to be compatible with the gods over in Redmond. Well, kinda compatible.
On a college campus, especially a large one with wireless network(s), identifying users by IP address is an inaccurate science at best, asinine at worst. Shared wireless/wired access points in dorms, apartments, frat houses, computer labs, libraries, coffee shops, etc. further complicate the situation
The RIAA doesn't seem to care if they catch their "criminals"; they're out for blood. The hope is that a few users will be investigated/handed over by their colleges. Then some of the casual P2P users on campuses will stop downloading or turn to smarter filesharing methods.
In the RIAA fantasy world, the outcome is that everyone but a few "bad apples" will stop downloading music except via the (RIAA owned and approved) channels.
Seriously. Even if they just get the fire/water effects of compiz going with a device like this, it would be much more awesome than the demo videos. Could have a small table like this as an input device, and a larger screen to show all the compiz coolness. I don't have the requisite skills, but I hope someone in the community hears me :)
That Iron Man suit is cool, but can it run Linux?
I really wish more people would RTFA. The main gripe seems to be with Landscape, which is an online service run on proprietary software. Launchpad is also proprietary, but Canonical has shown some signs of freeing it up.
...which begs the question: Why not just fork Sugar and get it to run on an ubuntu-minimal install (with some tweaks, obviously)? Has Mark Shuttleworth weighed in on the OLPC situation yet? Maybe he would get behind some low-cost PCs running Ubuntu/Sugar.
Oh, and anyone who wants to run Sugar on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy can find the packages in the "universe" repository.